Best time to visit The Alhambra

We visited in the morning (10 am entrance to the palaces) and were happy with that choice.

Once you are up on the hill I do not recall many steps or elevation changes within the grounds, but that was 5 years go and we happily do steps so may not have noticed them.

If you are entering through the Justice gate ( good choice) make sure you have your tickets in hand. We picked ours up the evening before ( we were doing a night visit as well).

We did have meals on the Alhambra grounds, lunch on the patio at hotel America and a light tapas supper on the patio at the parador. While the view from the parador was nice, the food was expensive and not particularly memorable. The patio at the hotel America, on the other hand, was a lovely experience and I do recommend that. Photos:

http://www.hotelamericagranada.com/index.php/en/restaurant.html

It made for a nice break between the palaces and the Generalife.

As for whether the Generalife might be redundant after the gardens at the Alcazar in Sevilla, I cannot say. For me ( and we did visit both) they were not-–but I am a garden lover and can walk for hours just taking it all in.

Lola,

Thank you once again!
My mom & I love gardens & I know she will love to see both as well.
My only concern is the stairs/uphills involved in the area.

10AM sound good to me... walk around for a couple of hours then eat lunch!

Thanks for the information about eating at Parador vs. Hotel America-- Hotel America sounds more promising!
BTW, do you remember any benches on the Generalife Gardens?

My mom wants me to buy her a cane, you know the ones that have a folding seat, just so she can sit whenever/wherever she wishes.

However, the seating surface is so small that I'm afraid she may topple over!

Thanks again!

EDIT: Yes, I plan to pick up our tickets the day before!

I prefer morning so that you have as long as you want after 2:00 to eat, wander or just enjoy the site. And it's cooler. You have to be through the ticketed sites by 2:00, but can still wander the grounds. Eating lunch at one of the restaurants is nice (I forget which one I ate at but it had an outdoor patio with views of the palace and city below). The grounds are pretty level though there are some stairs in the different sites. But really not much climbing. The Generalife Gardens are not at all like the Alcazar in Sevilla and you must pass through them anyway to get to the Generalife Palace (which is well worth the entry). Remember that your ticket will have a timed entry for the Nasrid Palace and you MUST be in line in the time window on your ticket or you will not be admitted to the Nasrid (no exceptions given). And the nighttime visit is a light show in the Nasrid, not all access to the grounds and different ticketed sites. So while some also enjoy visiting at night as a different atmosphere, it is not something you do in lieu of the regular daytime visit.

Priscilla,

There are benches in the Generalife gardens and a lot of shade. The gardens are long and narrow and are terraced. You can walk a long, flat stretch before having to go down steps to the next level. There were stairs to get into the summer palace within the garden. I thought the gardens were the best part of our visit. The gardens themselves were lovely and also give you views over the other parts of the Alhambra.

One possibility to make it easier for your mom - would it work to take a cab or bus to the Gate of Justice to see the Palacio Nazaries then go out that gate to catch a bus or cab uphill to the upper entrance where ticket sales and the gift shop are? That might save climbing some steps. Perhaps others have a better memory of the layout than I do. Another possibility might be to split the visit into two days. You could go back a second day and easily get a ticket that does not include the Palacio Nazaries . We did that, mainly because it was too hot to enjoy everything during one trip.

Jennifer

Douglas,

Thank you for emphasizing this important fact!

"You have to be through the ticketed sites by 2:00, but can still wander the grounds."

I remember reading this in RS's book but I was a bit confused about it.
So say I have a reservation to enter the palaces at 10AM, then I have to enter the Generalife before 2PM, but don't have to leave the grounds by 2PM, right?

Jennifer,

One possibility to make it easier for your mom - would it work to take a cab or bus to the Gate of Justice to see the Palacio Nazaries then go out that gate to catch a bus or cab uphill to the upper entrance where ticket sales and the gift shop are?

Thanks for this tip!
I actually called the Alhambra bookstore today to ask some questions & forgot to ask if it's uphill or downhill to get to the main entrance from the palaces.
The woman I spoke with was very helpful & she suggested we take a taxi up to the Justice Gate instead of the minibus which leaves you further down & then one needs to climb up a bit to get to the entrance.

We may split our visit over 2 days too! Thanks!

The night visit to the Nasrid Palaces is not instead of, but in addition to, the daytime visit. They look very different in the evenings, and you get the view of Granada at night too. For that, you can take the minibus or taxi to the Justice Gate. You do not visit the lower portion of the Palaces or rest of the huge Alhambra campus. It's a short walk from that gate to the Palaces.

The Nasrid Palaces are the lowest point of the campus. The Generalife is about the highest point. To get from one to the other, you pretty much have to go to the main entrance. It's a long, long uphill (but not steep) walk from the Nasrid Palaces to the Generalife. If you are concerned about Mom's stamina and/or the afternoon heat, you'd do best to plan to visit the Nasrid Palaces and Alcazaba one morning and the Generalife on another morning. The Generalife includes beautiful buildings. If memory serves me well, you only have one flight of stairs at a time anywhere. There are extensive gardens on the way to the Generalife. There are other - unticketed - sights near the Nasrid Palaces.

I brought a picnic lunch. I don't remember seeing restaurants, just snacks. But then, I wasn't looking for them either.

The 3-legged folding cane/stools are very stable on level ground, but you have to straddle it, so the handle is in front of you. They are good in museums and on guided tours, when there's a lot of standing. If you're on your own (and it sounds like you will be), it's better to find a real place to sit. In the Nasrid Palaces, just about every other room as a chair or 2 for the guards. Mom can use those. If there's someone sitting on one, stand nearby and wait for him/her to get up - or even ask if this lovely woman who has come from so far away could possible sit and rest for a few minutes.

I can't remember if you're in Granada first or Seville. I think you'll enjoy the Royal Alcazar and the Generalife both. And wish you could return next week to see them again.

HI Chani,
Thank you for such detailed information!
I think we will split our visit of the palaces & Generalife over 2 days.
This is the route we will be taking: Madrid > Córdoba > Granada> Sevilla > Toledo ( via Madrid).

Thanks again!

It's a pleasure, Priscilla. Every time I answer, I remember some of my wonderful experiences. If you want any detailed suggestions on sights or other stuff, PM me. I'm home now, with no (sniff, sniff, sigh) travel plans for the next 8 months or so.

By the way, after you buy the Alhambra tickets online, it's very easy to print them out ahead of time once you get to Spain. You find a Caixa point (looks like an ATM, usually next to one), put in the credit card you purchased with (that's the only one that will do the trick) and follow the instructions. You can do this in any city, not necessary to wait until Granada.

Did you resolve the Seville hotel dilemma?

Hi Chani,

By the way, after you buy the Alhambra tickets online, it's very easy to print them out ahead of time once you get to Spain. You find a Caixa point (looks like an ATM, usually next to one), put in the credit card you purchased with (that's the only one that will do the trick) and follow the instructions. You can do this in any city, not necessary to wait until Granada.

Thanks for this great tip! I didn't know about this one, how did you find out about it?

Regarding the hotel situation in Sevilla... Hotel Amadeus (my first choice), only had one night (first night of our stay) available, so I booked it & asked if they can add us to the waiting list (only ones on the list) in case someone cancels. I doubt this will happen, especially since it's such a popular hotel with great reviews. So I already booked a different hotel but it's not located in the Santa Cruz area. So I guess I'm still searching :-)

Thanks again! I will send you a PM too ;-)

Caixa - I don't remember how I found out. Maybe from a travel forum.